Debra Messing

Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. She is known for her many television roles, most notably Grace Adler on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace. Following her graduation from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing had short lived tenures on the Fox sitcom Ned & Stacey (1995–1997) and the ABC sci-fi Prey (1998). She rose to prominence in her role as interior designer Grace Adler on Will & Grace (1998-2006), earning both commercial and critical success throughout the series' original run. Her performance earned her five Emmy nominations, six Golden Globe nominations, and seven Screen Actors Guild nominations, ultimately winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2003 and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2001. As of 2017 she is reprising the role of Grace Adler in NBC's reboot of the show. She has also received acclaim for her work as Molly Kagan, the ex-wife of a Hollywood film mogul, in the cable series The Starter Wife (2007–2008), receiving two Golden Globe nominations, an Emmy nomination, and a Screen Actors Guild nomination for her performance. More recently she has played Broadway playwright Julia Houston in the musical-drama series Smash (2012-2013) and homicide detective Laura Diamond in the police-procedural comedy The Mysteries of Laura (2014-2016), both on NBC. Messing's film work includes A Walk in the Clouds, The Mothman Prophecies, Jesus, Hollywood Ending, Along Came Polly, The Wedding Date, Lucky You, The Women, and Nothing like the Holidays. She has also voiced roles in several animated films such as Garfield and Open Season. 2Early life Messing was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, the daughter of Sandra (née Simons), who worked as a professional singer, banker, travel and real estate agent, and Brian Messing, a sales executive for a costume jewelry packaging manufacture